Hastings school officials welcome new chief with an open house – and a meeting

Rotary District 6360 Governor Margie Haas of Hastings gets acquainted with new Superintendent Dan Remenap and his wife, Lesa, at an open house Tuesday.

New Hastings Superintendent Dan Remenap and his wife, Lesa, met with the community Tuesday at an open house at the Hastings Middle School Commons.

Afterward, Remenap and school board members went to the band room and spent a couple of hours talking about process and protocol in the governance of the schools as the district transitions to a new superintendent.

Donna Oser, director of leadership development and executive search services for the Michigan Association of School Boards, facilitated the superintendent search in Hastings. She returned Tuesday night to lead the work session on district governance.

“You all went through a laborious and high-anxiety process, but the important work really begins now where you work together as a governance team,” Oser told the school board. “Some of what I'm going to talk about tonight is going to be obvious to you.

“... Part of this is making sure what common practices are – and then what really happens. Those are not always 100-percent consistent.”

The big picture, Oser said, is to align all the resources to support the intricate relationship that has to exist between the board and the superintendent.

“For all intents and purposes, as the board and superintendent work together, the superintendent is the board's agent in implementing that vision,” she said. “It means that this is the person you've entrusted to drive that plan forward.”

Board of Education President Luke Haywood said, “It's going to take each one of us an extra effort to bring Dan up to speed because he's the new guy at the table.”

The work session reviewed policies and protocols, budget, community relations and facilities, among other subjects.

When the subject of facilities came up, Remenap asked, “Who's on the facilities committee and when do we meet?” And they should have a budget committee meeting right after that, he noted.

Part of the work session was a reminder to school board members of their important roles in the governance of the district.

“For all intents and purposes,” Oser said, “as the board and superintendent work together, the superintendent is the board's agent in implementing that vision. It means that this is the person you've entrusted to drive that plan forward.”

The next meeting of the school board is 7 p.m. Monday, July 22, in the Middle School Commons Area.